Doctoral Thesis: International Male Migration Helps Women Gain Agency
Main Uddin, a PhD researcher in Social and Cultural Anthropology, conducted ethnographic research on stay-behind women in migrant households in Rashidpur Village, Sirajdikhan Upazila, Munshiganj District, Bangladesh. This study explores how international male migration influences traditional gender roles, social relationships, and women's agency. It investigates the changes in gender-based mobility, transnational networks, and social norms, while also assessing whether these changes sustain after the migrants return permanently.
The study investigates the agency of stay-behind women from migrant households in various ways. First, it examines the challenges and strategies faced by a male researcher conducting ethnographic research with stay-behind women and the reactions of the community people to their interactions, finding that, in many cases, the agency of women is not a barrier to communicating with outsider men. They are primarily concerned about the people around them and the norms and values of their families and society. Second, the study introduces the concept of the "feminization of the pre-migration phase," highlighting how women actively facilitate male migration to enhance their own social positioning. Third, it explores how transnational interactions and economic shifts affect gender norms, mobility, and decision-making power. Women from recently affluent nuclear households, who previously lived in poverty but gained wealth through migration, are more capable of participating, negotiating, reshaping, and reforming their boundaries, as well as establishing their agency within social norms. Lastly, the study addresses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing how financial independence gained from income-generating activities has redefined traditional gender roles.
Unlike previous studies that focus solely on continuity or change in gender roles, this research integrates both perspectives to assess the long-term sustainability of transformations induced by migration. The study uses an intersectional lens and illustrates how women’s agency is influenced by household composition, family background, economic status, and educational levels. This research challenges the idea of passive subordination, arguing that stay-behind women actively navigate patriarchal constraints, assert their opinions, and carve out spaces for themselves within socio-cultural frameworks.
The findings have important policy implications. Policymakers can leverage these insights to create gender-sensitive migration policies and development programs that enhance women's economic and social agency. Providing support for skill development, income-generating initiatives, and education can help sustain women's agency beyond temporary economic gains. Furthermore, interventions should address the constraints faced by women in traditionally affluent extended households, where financial stability does not always lead to increased decision-making power.
This study contributes to migration, gender studies, and anthropology by offering new perspectives on gender dynamics in rural Bangladesh. The insights gained can guide future research, shape policy frameworks, and inform community-based interventions aimed at promoting gender-equitable transformations in societies influenced by migration.
Main Uddin from the School of Humanities defended the doctoral thesis " 'Stay-behind' women of migrant-men: Changing agency of women in rural Bangladesh".
on 19 February. Thesis supervisors were Carlo Cubero Irizarry, Associate Professor at Tallinn University and Ellen Bal, Associate Professor at the Vrije University of Amsterdam. Opponents were Nasir Uddin, Professor at the University of Chittagong and Sanderien Verstappen, Associate Professor at the University of Vienna